History and (of) My Digital Camera, Part 1

If anyone found my computer's story interesting, just wait until you read the latest escapade on the BOSD technology front. The story may reveal my identity, so if you think you know who I am, read carefully. This is the final test.

It all started six years ago. I received a phone call from a teacher of mine, asking me if I would be interested in a job. She told me that a girl from my high school had failed her history regent, and since I had gotten a 99 when I took it, (that point killed me. I still haven't gotten over it.) she thought I might be a good candidate to tutor this girl for the makeup test. One girl turned into three, and I earned an extra couple of hundred dollars that summer. I decided to buy myself something with the money, and, being a gadget freak (my father's term, not mine) it wasn't hard for me to decide on a digital camera. Now, I had originally planned to get a cheap camera, the standard model for that time. I don't know if everyone remembers the cameras of six years ago, but those who had made the jump from film cameras were using these large box-like devices with a tiny screen, usually about an inch diagonal, which was dim and hard to see.

I planned to buy one of those dinosaurs, I really did. But I walked into the store and saw the Sony T1 and started to salivate. Those kind of cameras were completely unheard of at that point. Nobody had ultra-slim cameras. Nobody had 2.5 inch LCD screens. The price tag though, made me sweat. $500? For a camera? I was determined not to let myself buy it. But the extra two tutorees, combined with a lot of pressure from my father and a really good salesman at Best Buy named Paul convinced me. It also helped that my father sweet-talked the manager into giving us a ten percent discount on the camera. I couldn't believe it when I walked out of the door of the store, having just spent a summer's worth of tutoring money on a camera.

I felt like a particularly gullible fool, a few days later, when I thought about the service plan Paul had managed to sell me. $80 for a four year warranty seemed excessive, but Paul explained how useful it would be, and I was saving fifty dollars anyway...

The T1 was a wonderful camera. I shouldn't admit to this, but I absolutely loved the way it drew gasps from strangers every time I would remove it from my bag... I really shouldn't say this, but I have been accused of asking strangers to photograph my group just to collect compliments when I handed them the novelty of a large screened, ultra slim digital camera. I felt such a thrill every time I brought the camera to a school function and saw the heads turn. Oh, and it took really good pictures, especially in an era when digital pictures looked like a poor color copy of an old photograph.

Fast forward two years. I took out my camera, turned it on...and nothing happened. Blackness. I thought the battery was dead, so I charged it, put it back in, and still nothing happened. I was devastated. Then I remembered my friend Paul and his four year, 80 dollar, extended warranty...

(Part 2 to follow...)

And in case anyone is wondering, I don't plan to end Top Ten Tuesday. I have some awesome Top Ten Ideas, but I need some time for them. Sorry for any disappointment. I hope to post one next week...